A Package Deal
by Lauraline94
Summary: Tag to Season 2 Finale *Spoilers Within* Mac realized that he should have figured out long ago that it wasn't the relationship by blood that mattered. It wasn't the blood or the DNA that defined family. It was the bond that counted.


**Hello everyone! This is a tag I wrote for the season 2 finale. If you have not watched it yet, I highly recommend that you watch it before you read this story. *Spoilers are Within* There were a couple of things that I felt should have happened during the episode, but unfortunately did not. So I decided to add them in myself. Some things may not line up exactly with the episode. I took some creative license.**

 **P.S. I have never written anything so quickly. Hopefully there are not too many mistakes, but please excuse any you may find. Sadly, for me, with speed comes error ;) Also, hopefully the end is not too corny.**

 **A Package Deal**

Mac swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the lump that had sprung to his throat. Matty had been the one leaving him clues, not his father. With that realization came a truth that he didn't want to accept. A truth that hit him hard.

He felt tears burn the back of his eyes. If it had been Matty all along, that meant his father had never had any intention of reconnecting with him. His father…no… James, he corrected himself, had been more than happy to watch over him from a distance. Mac would never be able to label this man, who had abandoned and betrayed him, as his father ever again. James had been more than happy to play puppet master rather than the role of his father.

Mac took a deep breath and wiped at his eyes. He quickly compartmentalized his emotions, stashing them away to confront them later. Right now he needed to be strong. He knew exactly what he needed to do.

He quickly walked down the hallway and entered into the war room coming face to face with the person he had once called Dad, but would never call Dad again. Mac made sure to school his features. He didn't want this man to know the pain that he had caused him. He wanted to deliver his resignation with a calm, steady voice even though he was feeling anything but. Mac didn't want to give James MacGyver the satisfaction of knowing that his actions had had any effect or power over him. James didn't deserve to be in his life in any way, shape, or form.

He was aware of his friends standing in the doorway behind him, hanging on his every word. He didn't particularly want an audience, but he needed to do this nonetheless.

Mac thought that the words would feel heavy and foreign coming out of his mouth, but they didn't. His words came with ease and with the words came a lightness that he wasn't expecting. It felt oddly right.

He had done a lot of good at the Phoenix foundation, but this was the end. Working there would never be the same. It was as simple as the explanation that he had given Matty before, and was now giving to James. He had been lied to and he couldn't bring himself to work with those who had intentionally been deceitful and those who had played him.

Mac felt a weird sense of relief that he wasn't expecting to feel. As soon as the words left his mouth he felt a weight lift from his shoulders. A weight that he hadn't realized he had been carrying. His words were about quitting his job, but they were so much more than that. In truth it was a goodbye. It was the first step to moving on. He was cutting all ties with his father.

Mac knew he would be lying to himself if he said he didn't enjoy the look of pure surprise and shock that flashed across his father's face. It looked like James, the person who thought he had everything figured out, hadn't seen this coming.

Mac didn't give James a chance to respond. Not that it would have mattered. James couldn't say anything that would make him stay. He was done. He was done caring about a father that obviously did not care about him and may never have.

James may have been his father by blood, but he certainly wasn't his father by bond. Mac realized that he should have figured out long ago that it wasn't the relationship by blood that mattered. It wasn't the blood or the DNA that defined family. It was the bond that counted.

Mac turned on his heel and headed towards the door. He passed by his friends and didn't say a word. He didn't know what to say. He couldn't look them in the eye. He couldn't even bring himself to look at Jack. He was afraid of what he might see on his partner's face. He quickly passed by his true family, eyes downcast, knowing that they would understand.

…..

Jack felt an almost weird sense of pride seeing Mac confront James MacGyver in the war room. He was glad the kid was standing up to his father and wasn't giving the guy any leeway for what he had done. As far as Jack was concerned, James MacGyver didn't deserve a second chance.

Jack was not exactly surprised when he heard Mac give his resignation. He felt the kid was making the right choice, but he could tell that the decision was costing his partner. The others may not be able to see the fissures and cracks, but Jack could. Jack could see them clear as day, because he knew Mac better than anyone. He certainly knew him better than James who seemed to think he could claim Mac and mess with him just because they shared DNA.

The more they had learned about James the more Jack had hated him. It had become obvious that James was not interested in being there for Mac. Jack felt venomous rage bubble up within his chest thinking about all of the time his partner had spent wondering and even worrying about his father. His father whom, they found out, had never wanted to be found.

Jack had never hated anyone more. The guy had abandoned Mac in a time when the kid had needed him most. What kind of parent left their son to face the death of their mother alone? What kind of father left, adding abandonment to the list of hurt right under grief? James MacGyver wasn't a parent by any definition of the word. At least not by any definition that truly mattered.

Jack had come to this realization after working on their impromptu mission, but he had not shared his thoughts with Mac. He had wanted to give his partner a chance to decide for himself, and wanted to allow Mac some space so he could make his own judgement. Jack didn't want to inadvertently sway or influence the kid with his own opinion. If Mac wanted to try to fix things with his dad, Jack would support him. But now, it was clear that that was not the case.

Mac brushed past him on his way out of the war room, but wouldn't meet his eyes. He could tell that the kid just wanted to get as far away from his father as he could. Jack couldn't blame him.

Every instinct Jack had was telling him to rush after his partner, but first he had some orders of business to attend to. Now that Mac had made his decision, Jack could act on what he had been wanting to do ever since Mac had introduced him to his father at the side of the road.

With no warning he strode into the war room and delivered a hard right cross to James MacGyver's face. The man staggered from the force and almost ended up on the floor. James brought a hand up to his bleeding cheek and looked up at Jack.

Jack looked him in the eye and hoped his disdain was clear. "If this isn't already obvious. I quit."

Jack, like his partner, didn't wait for any kind of response. Instead, he sprinted through the door and down the hallway to try to catch up to his partner.

…

Jack's heart was racing. He was worried that he was too far behind his partner. It was possible that Mac was already gone. He pushed through the front doors, exiting the building in a mad run. He had to catch Mac before he left. Who knew where Mac would go or what he would do after everything that had happened. Jack needed to be there. His plan to make a beeline for the parking lot, in the hopes of catching Mac before he drove away, were dashed as soon as he stepped out of the building.

He stopped in his tracks, surprised to see Mac sitting in the shade of a tree in the courtyard. Mac was sitting in the grass, staring at the front entrance, and seemingly waiting for him. Jack walked over to Mac and sat down next to his young friend.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Jack decided he couldn't sit there quietly any longer. He needed some insight as to what was going on in his friend's head. "You alright, bud?"

Mac gave him a shaky smile and then shook his head back and forth. Jack felt his heart seize at Mac's admittance.

"Right," Jack said softly. "Stupid question."

Jack watched as Mac moved his hands through the grass and picked a few of the longer green strands. Mac started to absently fiddle with the pieces, his eyes distant. It reminded Jack of Mac's quirky habit of reshaping paperclips. The kid always liked to keep his hands busy. Jack could tell that Mac wanted to say something, but wasn't quite ready. He was still processing. Jack could practically see the wheels turning. He knew that he just had to wait him out. Right now was not the time to push. They sat together in companionable silence until Mac spoke.

"I just…" Mac gave a frustrated sigh and dropped the blades of grass that he had been weaving together into the sea of green. He ran his hands through his hair and looked down at the ground. "I just thought…I thought things would be different. How could I be so wrong?"

Jack hated hearing the self-incrimination and self-loathing in the statement.

He reached over and gave Mac's shoulder a slight squeeze, bringing his partner's attention back to him. "Bud, there is nothing wrong with hoping for something better. I'll admit that hope can be a dangerous game, but there's nothing wrong with wanting more. You _should_ hope for more, you _deserve_ more."

Mac gave a small nod and moved his gaze downwards. The kid didn't seem convinced.

"Mac, there was no way for you to know. Like I said, hope can be a dangerous game and sometimes it doesn't pan out. I'm really sorry that this ended up being one of those times. I emphasize, kid, I really do."

Mac raised his head and gave Jack a small, but genuine smile. "I think you mean empathize, Jack."

Jack smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "Same difference." He was happy to see the smile, even if it was at his expense.

They sat in silence a little longer, enjoying the nice, warm California breeze. The longer they sat, the calmer Mac seemed to get. His eyes didn't seem quite as bright and his posture didn't seem quite as slouched. Jack knew this conversation wasn't over, but he also knew that it had been tabled for another time. Mac didn't want to talk about it anymore. Jack suspected that the wounds were too fresh and too painful. Since this line of discussion was over for now, Jack decided to change the subject.

"So where we gonna work?" Jack asked, as he laid back into the grass, bringing his hands behind his head as a pillow.

"We?" Mac asked, drawing out the word.

"Oh, yeah. I just quit." Jack said, as though it was run of the mill and no big deal.

"You quit?" Mac asked, the surprise in his voice palpable. "Look Jack, just because I quit doesn't mean you had to quit, too."

"I know. I didn't have to, but I wanted to. We came here together and I figured we would leave the same way. We're a package deal, brother. Where you go, I go. It's as simple as that."

"It's just…you loved this job," Mac said, sounding unsure.

Jack gave a small chuckle and shook his head. For being so smart, Mac sometimes just didn't seem to get it. "Mac, I loved this job, but did you ever stop to think that the reason I loved this job was because I got to work with you? Cause that's exactly why I loved this job. So you quit, I quit." Jack sat up a little and adjusted his arms so he could lean back on his elbows. He directed a wink at his partner. "Hate to say it bud, but you're stuck with me."

Mac gave Jack a warm smile and moved from his sit to lay back in the grass. "Then I guess it's a good thing that there is no one else I would rather be stuck with."

 **The End**

 **Thanks for reading. Please leave me a review! The two things that I had really wanted to see happen in the episode was Jack punching Mac's father and Jack quitting right after Mac. I can't believe the season is over. Now we wait. Thankfully we have fanfiction to keep us busy until season 3 starts :)**

 **Also, for those of you who are wondering…I have not given up on The New Cairo. I'm working on it, but I have no idea when I'll have the next chapter finished. I have learned my lesson though. I will not be posting stories until I have them completely finished.**


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